Formal Semantics/Pragmatics

Robert Brandom's normative-pragmatic theory is intended to represent the minimal set of practical abilities whose exhibition qualifies creatures as speaking a language. His model of a minimally discursive practice (MDP) is one in which participants, devoid of logical vocabulary, are only capable of making assertions and drawing inferences. This paper argues that Brandom's purely assertional practices are not MDPs and that speech acts of asking questions (queries) must be included in any practice that counts as an MDP. The upshot of the argument is support for the claim that the normative pragmatic analysis of assertions requires a corresponding analysis of queries and vice versa. Deontic scorekeeping (DSK) is Brandom's model for normative social practices. According to DSK, the way participants take or treat each other's performances is represented by two sorts of normative autonomous discursive practice must include core practices of giving and asking for reasons" 111].

This talk presents a preliminary account of the contributions of Prof. V. I. Subramoniam (1926-2009) to the development of linguistics in Bharat, with particular reference to Dravidian linguistics. Situating his work within the transition from colonial comparative philology to a Bharatiya linguistic paradigm, the talk highlights his role in institution-building, intellectual leadership, and methodological reorientation. It argues that Prof. V. I. S. transformed Dravidian linguistics from a classificatory colonial enterprise into a dynamic, inclusive, and Bharatiya field of inquiry, while also foregrounding language contact, convergence, and indigenous grammatical traditions. "Some people follow the path laid before them; but a rare few-like Prof. V. I. S.-reshape the very path as they walk it".

フランス国立東洋言語文化大学 フランス東アジア研究所Institut Français de Recherche sur l\u27Asie de l\u27Est, Inalco, Université de Paris, CNRS日本語文法研究において助詞は古くから中心的な研究課題であるが，「だけ」「さえ」「も」などの研究は近年とりたてと呼ばれる現象を扱う枠組みで大きく発展してきた。とりたては日本語では主にとりたて助詞により，フランス語では範列導入副詞（Adverbes paradigmatisants）と呼ばれるとりたて副詞により表現されるが，この「とりたて」の働きは他の表現形式によって生じる作用と共通あるいは連続している。本論文では，日本語研究で「とりたて」と呼ばれる文法作用を通して見られるさまざまな品詞，表現間の連続性について考察する。In the study of Japanese grammar, the particle has long been a central subject of research. In recent years, research on particles such as dake sae, or mo has evolved significantly within the framework of studies on the phenomenon called toritate. In Japanese, the effect of toritate is mainly produced by toritate particles. In French, it is generated by a paradigmatizing adverb (Adverbes paradigmatisants in French). The effects of toritate are common or continuous with the effects produced by other terms and expressions. This study examines the continuity among various terms and expressions that can be revealed ...

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This thesis investigates the interpretations of genitive and quantificational forms that Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) unifies under a complex DP, namely Construct State (CS). Despite the linguistic differences between these phenomena, the PF form of this structure neutralizes all indicated types and their sub-types into a head-complement form (possessum-possessor or quantifier-domain restriction), where the whole structure's definiteness is recovered from the complement that is distinguished for this value overtly. However, the internal syntactic and semantic components such as the source of relations and definiteness value of the whole structure that contribute to the CS its various interpretations are always concealed at PF. This neutralization makes it hard to view the differences between CS types as well as the causes of their various semantic ambiguities. This project analyzes Nominal and Quantificational CSs of MSA to uncover their hidden syntactic and semantic factors that distinguish their semantic contributions. To approach these two forms, this thesis consists of four main discussion chapters. Two of these chapters (2&3) are devoted to approach genitive nominals, and their syntactic and semantic aspects. Chapter (2) looks at (in)definiteness: marking, agreement (inheritance), and its interpretation on either component at LF. In this chapter, I argue that the Nominal-CS D head inherits its covert definiteness featural specifications from its complement whose definiteness is distinguished overtly. This inheritance takes place at the syntactic level via the operation of v

O presente documento apresenta uma tradução para o português do artigo Truth and Meaning (Verdade e Significado) do filósofo Donald Davidson.
Fonte: Revista Synthese, Vol. 17, No. 3, Language in Use Including Wittgenstein's Comments on Frazer and a Symposium on Mood and Language-Games (Sep., 1967), pp. 304-323

This paper explores the grammatical constraints operating on Spanish generic null objects (e.g. Esta película sorprende Ø 'this film surprises'), as well as their syntactic representation. Regarding the grammatical constraints, it is claimed in this paper that generic null objects in Spanish do not obtain their interpretation from an antecedent (i.e., they are non-anaphoric), must occur in generic sentences, be affected by the event denoted by the verb and receive a human reading. Also, their occurrence is lexically constrained: they only occur with predicates that allow human objects. Regarding their syntactic properties, generic null objects are not only semantically interpreted, but also syntactically represented, since they are sensitive to syntactic operations such as control, binding and secondary predication. Specifically, generic null objects are syntactically a set of D and φ-features (i.e., they display D, gender and number features). Thus, they are DPs. Regarding their analysis, it is proposed in this paper that generic null objects behave as variables bound by an operator in Spanish. This explains the different interpretations they receive depending on the operator in the sentence.

This research deals with how the definite and indefinite articles (the and a/an) are used by French speaking researchers in their doctoral theses they have already defended in the Department of English at Cheikh Anta DIOP University. After having used documentary analysis in order to collect data from twenty (20) defended doctoral theses, this paper shows that the definite and indefinite articles are not properly used in some reference phrases. The two types of articles are either ungrammatically used or realized in the layered structure of the reference phrase to convey unintentional meanings that impinge upon the interpretation of sent information. This research shows the types of semantic modifications the appropriate use of the definite and indefinite articles makes in English reference phrases. It has been found that some reference phrases that are about specific referents in the outside world are realized without the definite article the, and others whose referents must be talked about generally are unintentionally modified by the use of the definite article. Zero article is used where the indefinite article must appear, and the definite article is used in reference phrases that contextually require the use of the indefinite article in order to convey appropriate information.

This paper examines counterfactual (CF) structures in Makkan Arabic, a dialect spoken in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. It expands the study of CF structures beyond English. It also presents novel data highlighting the presence of a CF complementizer law that is lexically specified to invoke counterfactuality. The CF law interacts with past tense and perfect aspect in embedded propositions, contributing to ongoing debates in semantics about whether the past tense in such contexts is "fake" or "real." Within the framework of possible worlds semantics, the CF complementizer law enters the computation with a universal operator (∀) that quantifies over all CF worlds. The past tense morphology within the embedded proposition, headed by law, triggers a process called "back-shifting." This process ensures that the events in the CF worlds share the same past as the event in the actual world. The universal operator (∀) not only quantifies over all CF worlds but also over time, indicating that the CF worlds are historically similar to the actual world up to the moment of the utterance. Thus, this study highlights the intricate interaction between the complementizer law, tense, and aspect in Makkan Arabic, contributing new insights to cross-linguistic discussions on counterfactuality.

The aim of our talk is to discuss a hitherto underresearched and at first glance puzzling non-maximal use of the definite article documented in several – but not all – Romance varieties. As noted by Cardinaletti/Giusti (2018), among others, many varieties of Italian allow definite articles with indefinite (i.e. non-maximal) interpretations ([1a], available also with plural count nouns), in variation with socalled partitive articles and bare nominals (1b). A similar situation holds true, e.g., of Francoprovençal (with the exception of bare nouns being banned in this variety; cf. Stark & Gerards 2021). In French, on the contrary – just as in (Modern) Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian – the morphological equivalent of Italian (1a) can only yield a strongly definite reading, i.e., refer to a maximal sum of wine portions (2a). The triggering of an indefinite reading in French, in turn, crucially hinges upon the presence of the partitive article (2b):

The temporal adverbial 'then' is cross-linguistically incompatible with the present tense, not only in matrix but also in embedded clauses. In languages such as Modern Greek, Russian, Modern Hebrew, and Japanese, where the present tense can shift referring to the ‘now’ of the attitude holder rather than the time of the utterance, then remains incompatible with the present, even though the latter denotes a time in the past or future (Ogihara & Sharvit 2012, Sharvit 2018, Vostrikova 2018, Tsilia 2021). Additionally, in Modern Greek, 'then' is at the same time compatible with a deleted past (Abusch 1997), which is interpreted as a present from the point of view of the attitude holder (Tsilia 2022). Thus, 'then' is incompatible with the shifted present, but compatible with the deleted past in the same language, suggesting that the two are not semantically equivalent. We introduce a new interpretation parameter, which we call ‘temporal perspective’. The interpretation of tenses and of 'then' is sensitive to the temporal perspective. Tense shift is a result of the shift of the perspective, and the incompatibility between 'then' and the present is derived as a shift together effect (Anand & Nevins 2004, Sudo 2012, Deal 2020). On the other hand, the deleted past is assumed to be stripped of its perspective sensitivity, and therefore does not clash with 'then'. We also provide empirical support for distinguishing the perspective from the context and the evaluation index.

In this paper we propose to investigate the mutual relations among Brandom's three dimensions of semantic inferential articulation, namely, incompatibility en-tailment, committive, and permissive consequences. Brandom (Unpub.) argues (1) that ...

In both philosophy and science, standard logics struggle to model a key insight of Existential Realism (ER): that existence is a strictly present, empirical notion, whereas reality spans beyond the present. Classical first-order logic and even temporal modal logics tend to conflate being real with existing simpliciter, making it difficult to formally distinguish something that exists now from something that is real but not present. This paper introduces a formal two-tier logical framework tailored to ER’s ontology. We motivate this framework by showing how orthodox systems—from classical predicate logic to temporal modal logic—fail to capture ER’s core distinction between present existence and temporally extended reality. We then develop a layered logic with explicit operators or quantifiers for “existence-now” versus “reality-over-time,” including formal axioms that preserve ER’s asymmetries: only present entities exist (in the fullest sense), yet past and future entities can be real (ontologically significant) without existing. The logic adopts a modal-style treatment of time to model the collapse of potential into actual (present-becoming), and explicitly encodes causal asymmetry — where the past influences the present, but not the reverse. We illustrate the framework with symbolic representations, including an iconic “ER equation” capturing the relationship between reality and existence. To demonstrate its versatility, we apply the logic to examples from quantum physics (e.g. wavefunction collapse and delayed-choice experiments), cognitive neuroscience (memory traces and anticipatory processing), ethics (moral duties to future persons and the reality of future outcomes), and AI (agents modeling counterfactual or temporally extended scenarios). Finally, we show how the formalism sheds new light on classic metaphysical debates such as the truthmaker problem for past truths, persistence and identity over time, and the ontology of merely possible or future entities. Throughout, our presentation maintains a rigorous yet accessible tone, consistent with prior ER works, with technical clarity and footnoted references. The result is a self-contained preprint that extends T.C. Trepp’s Existential Realism into a formal logical system, demonstrating its broad applicability across science, philosophy, and practical reasoning.

Argues for a 3-valued logic of vagueness. In distinction to other 3-valued approaches this logic is an extension of classical logic, due to the use of both a Boolean and a predicate negation. The approch is justified by semantic considerations. Critical issues like Sorites reasoning, higher order vagueness, and 'penumbral truth' are discussed from this perspective.

In this paper we offer a study on the interpretation of plural definites in discourse (‘the tank engines’) and their interaction with spatial adpositions (‘to’ and ‘at’). The novel empirical findings in the paper support the following assumptions on the contribution of spatial adpositions to the interpretation of plural definites. First, the interpretation of plural definites can be influenced by the lexical aspect type of adpositions. While ‘to’ as ‘telic’ predicate can license both a ‘collective’ and a ‘distributive’ reading for plural definites, ‘at’ as an ‘atelic’ predicate only licenses a ‘collective’ reading. Second, the precise lexical content of adpositions determines which interpretation is accessed. It is claimed that ‘at’ denotes a ‘general location’ relation between locatum and landmark object, and thus licenses a collective reading for plural definites.

That plural marking cannot appear on mass nouns is a widely accepted generalization. In fact, the (in)ability of being pluralized is one of the diagnostics use for deciding whether a noun is mass or count. In English and similar languages, (1) is indeed ungrammatical. This sentence can only be salvaged when the mass term is coerced or reinterpreted as types of or standardized quantity of (see Chierchia 1998, 2010 among many others).

In this article, we argue that a set of unexpected contrasts in the interpretation of clitic-left-dislocated indefinites in Greek and Italian derive from structural variation in the nominal syntax of the two languages. Greek resists nonreferential indefinites in clitic left-dislocation, resorting to the topicalization of an often bare noun for nonreferential topics. By contrast, clitic left-dislocation is employed in Italian for topics regardless of their definite/indefinite interpretation. We argue that this contrast is directly linked to the wide availability of bare nouns in Greek, which stems from a structural difference in the nominal syntax of the two languages. In particular, we hypothesize that Greek nominal arguments lack a D layer. Rather, they are Number Phrases. We situate this analysis in the context of Chierchia’s (1998) typology of nominals. We argue that, on a par with Italian nouns, Greek nouns are [−arg, +pred]. However, they do not employ a syntactic head (D) for ...

When we are disturbed by the Sorites paradox, we are tempted to ask, "which statements with vague terms are true?" And "What is the logic of vague predicates?" Not finding satisfying answers, we are frustrated. But I would like to suggest different questions. "How do we learn about vague terms?" And "what role do they play in communication?" Asking these different questions gives us better answers and allows us to be less frustrated.

This paper offers a contrastive analysis of English and Romanian generic sentences, arguing that generics originate from a simple conceptual structure. We argue that the comprehension and production of generics require no functional structure, but rather merely the comprehension of lexical aspect in its simplest form, namely states. While English distinguishes generics from episodics via the progressive, Romanian's imperfective lacks this distinction. Additionally, cross-linguistic variation is evident in the semantics of definite articles. English definite articles encode familiarity and maximality, aligning with constraints on kind reference, while Romanian articles, marked with phi-features, encode maximality and treat familiarity as an optional pragmatic feature. The paper also argues that there are good grounds to give up the covert Gen(eric) operator.

This paper discusses the modal construction ‘vai que’ from Brazilian Portuguese. Our goal is to analyze its syntactic, semantic and pragmatic aspects. This construction is used when the speaker wants to convey that something  is  possible,  thus,  it  is  a  modal  construction.  Our  analysis  follows  proposals  from  cartographic  syntax  (Cinque,  1999;  Tsai,  2015;  Rizzi;  Bocci,  2017),  formal  semantics  (Kratzer,  1991;  von  Fintel,  2006;  Hacquard,  2006,  2010,  2011)  and  formal  pragmatics  (Stalnaker,  1999;  Portner,  2004).  Previous  analyses  of  ‘vai que’ have argued that it is: (i) weak; (ii) epistemic; (iii) conditional like; (iv) counterfactual; (v) high in the hierarchy; and (vi) a directive speech act (see Andrade, 2012, 2014, 2019; Dearmas, 2022, 2024; Ely and Cezário, 2023a, 2023b). We agree that it is a weak epistemic modal based on paraphrasis and contradiction tests (von Fintel; Heim, 2011), but we argue that ‘vai que’ is not part of a conditional structure, it does not convey counterfactuality, it is not higher than the epistemic modal head in the functional hierarchy, and it is also not a directive speech act. In our analysis, ‘vai que’ accesses the speaker’s beliefs through the speech event, following Hacquard (2006, 2010), and it presupposes another proposition in the common ground working as a justification for it.

En este trabajo se examinan las concepciones de Oswaldo Chateaubriand acerca de la naturaleza del lenguaje, así como las relaciones de éste con la lógica y la ontología. En primer lugar, se aborda la tematización del lenguaje como actividad humana. A continuación, se analiza la elucidación que propone Chateaubriand acerca del significado en términos de uso o condiciones sociales de identidad. En tercer lugar, se indaga la fundamentación del lenguaje y del significado en propiedades ontológicas. Finalmente, se plantean observaciones acerca de algunas tesis de Chateaubriand, tales como la distinción entre significado y sentido o el carácter innato de algunos conceptos.

This paper proposes a new treatment of quantifiers under the theoretical framework of Inquisitive Semantics (IS). After discussing the difficulty in treating quantifiers under the existing IS framework, I propose a new treatment of quantifiers that combines features of IS and the Generalized Quantifier Theory (GQT). My proposal comprises two main points: (i) assuming that the outputs of all quantifiers given non-inquisitive inputs are non-inquisitive; and (ii) deriving a predicate X * of type s→(e n →t) corresponding to each predicate X of type e n →T. By using X * , we can then restore the traditional treatment of GQT under the IS framework. I next point out that to properly handle the pair list reading of some questions with ''every'', we have to revert to the old treatment of every. I also introduce (and prove) a theorem that shows that the new treatment of every is just a special case of the old treatment, and conclude that the new treatment of all quantifiers other than every plus the old treatment of every is sufficient for the general purpose of treating quantified statements and questions.

Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt den Versuch dar, aus der detaillierten und systematischen Beschreibung der syntaktischen, semantischen und pragmatischen Eigenschaften von Satzen mit Verbzweitstellung (V2) , die alternativ zu durch „weil“ eingeleiteten Kausalsatzen, Relativsatzen und dass-Komplementen auftreten, eine These zur ubergreifenden Funktion dieser Verbstellung abzuleiten. Der Vergleich der Charakteristika mundet in der Identifizierung eines gemeinsamen funktionalen Kerns, namlich der assertiven Funktion von V2 in [-w]-Kontexten. Diese assertive Operation, die in Anlehnung an Stalnaker (1978/1999) als eine Reduzierung der Welten einer Kontextmenge definiert wird, findet je nach syntaktischem Status des V2-Satzes Anwendung auf unterschiedliche Kontexte. Dabei fuhrt eine syntaktische Desintegration zu einer Anwendung auf die Kontextmenge CS, dem ‚context set‘. Syntaktische Integration, wenn auch in geringerem Grade, beschrankt diese Operation auf Subkontexte der CS, so z.B. auf ...

Minimal sufficiency readings of exclusive modifiers (Just the thought of food makes me hungry) have resisted a comprehensive semantic analysis that accurately predicts their distribution. In this paper we show that the distribution of minimal sufficiency readings is directly correlated with the interpretation of plural arguments and that the distributional facts reflect the connection between plural predication and scalarity: sufficiency readings are licensed precisely in contexts where ordering relations over alternatives are reversed. We develop a semantics for exclusives that is capable of generating either exclusive or sufficiency readings depending on the direction of scalarity.